


A Three-Part Plan

by msgeniuspa



Series: Tales From The Forlorn Road [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Angst and Porn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Erotic Massage, F/M, Gratuitous Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Religious Discussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 03:53:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7961422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msgeniuspa/pseuds/msgeniuspa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zevran has a three part plan to revive Lornwen from her depression following the events in Orzammar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Three-Part Plan

It had been nearly a week since they had left Orzammar.  Lornwen knew that now was the time to really focus on the road ahead, but it was growing more difficult each day.  She was dull and slow while discussing strategy with Alistair.  With Zevran, she was distant.  She could feel herself withdrawing, but she had no idea how to begin to reverse it.  Every night in her dreams, she saw the Deep Roads.  Always just empty caverns and silence, her alone and lost.  She always awoke suddenly and afraid, curling in on herself and shaking.  She was exhausted in the worst way.

Now she sat by the fire, numb, absently petting Dog who rested his heavy head on her knee.  It was actually the most focused she'd been in days, watching the flames dance and the coals glow, listing to the crack and pop of the wood, feeling the warmth, and smelling and tasting the sharpness of the smoke.  But if her concentration wavered even a little, the caves flashed through her mind and her blood ran cold.  She shuddered and Dog whined, licking at her hand.

"Ah, cara mia," Zevran smiled, sitting next to her and pressing a full tankard into her hand.  "Oghren's new brew is truly inspired.  Really, you must try it."

Lornwen tried her best to smile as she accepted the drink and sniffed it.  The dwarf was the newest to the group, and she had already been burned once before on a variety of ale that was not 'truly inspired', but this one seemed safe.  Still, she sighed, "I don't think I'm mood tonight, Zev."

He was undeterred.  "You should have learned by now that I consider mood setting to be a personal talent.  Now, you have not recovered from the Deep Roads as the rest of us have, and I care deeply for you, so I will not rest until you do.  Hopefully, that means you first lay your troubles bare to me, then your body, and then you will sleep soundly in my arms.  But if you say that you want me to leave you to your brooding, then I will respect that, but I will still stand by my word and keep my vigil from afar."

This time her smile was a little more genuine, and she reconsidered the ale.  "I do appreciate that.  I appreciate you, Zevran.  I know I haven't been good to you since we came out of those tunnels-"

"You haven't been good to anyone," he corrected.  "Least of all, yourself."

"Alright," Lornwen nodded.  "Let's give your first plan a try."  She finally took a swig of the ale.  It actually was surprisingly good.  Hopefully it would offset the bad taste in her mouth from what she'd been dwelling on.  "I'm afraid to die," she told him, "and I know that I am dying.  Of the taint.  Occupational downside of being a Grey Warden.  Seeing the Deep Roads really drove home the fact that I've just been jumping from one kind of dying to another."

"Aren't we all?" Zevran joked hollowly, but he reached his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

She leaned into him, the warmth of his body infinitely more satisfying than that of the fire.  "It's not even the dying that I'm afraid of, we all die.  Though I already regret everyone I won't be able to save after I'm gone.  What really scares me is what happens after."

He sighed.  "Though I pray to the Maker for forgiveness, I know I have committed too many sins and with too much glee.  I have made my peace with the Void.  But, cara mia, you are too good.  You carry too much on your shoulders and never refuse more.  The Void is not your fate."

"It would be easier if I believed in your Maker," Lornwen admitted.  "But the souls of my people journey to join our gods in the Beyond after we die.  The way is long and difficult, but Falon'Din, the Guide, used to help us.  But then the gods were betrayed, and now they're trapped in the Eternal City.  We plant trees or at least staves over the graves of our dead so that their souls have at least a walking stick on the other side.  But it's a hard road, that's why Falon'Din was the Guide.  Souls that become lost never find peace.  It terrifies me not only for my own soul, but for everyone's souls.

"When I came of age, I took the markings of Falon'Din as my vallaslin.  The Keeper's stories always emphasized the destination, eternal youth and peace, and I didn't used to worry like this.  Falon'Din was absent, but we remember his ways and are born journeying, we can find our way after death.  But the world has grown so harsh and so bleak, my parents died before I can remember, and just before I was recruited to the Wardens, I lost my dear friend Tamlen.  There I nights when I'm haunted by the memories of all those I've lost, by fear for all those I could lose, when I can't imagine myself ever living in peace again, and the thought of never finding peace after is paralyzing."  Her voice choked in her throat, and a too familiar fear fluttered in her chest.  She tried to drink more of the ale, but the drink tasted like ash in her mouth.

"We are all afraid," Zevran confessed, nursing his own drink.  "There is so much  _to_ fear in times like these.  Thank you for telling me, but please hear me when I say that you need never suffer alone.  You have me and so many other friends whom you have helped and supported through so much who would happily support and help you in return."

"Thank you," Lornwen smiled, leaning her head against Zevran's shoulder.  "I know that, I do.  I've just felt so helpless about things lately, since Orzammar, it's been difficult to talk about anything.  But I do feel a bit better having gotten that off my chest."  They sat content for a long minute, watching the fire, Dog sleeping at their feet.  Lornwen's heart had lightened, and she could feel life slipping back into her limbs.  A slow grin spread across her face.  "Now, I believe 'laying bare my troubles to you' was step one of your plan to comfort me."

She couldn't see his face, but she could hear the smile in his voice.  "It was, cara mia, though I had thought the ale would be gone before step two.  Seems a shame to leave a good brew without knowing when the next one will come along."

Lornwen turned to face him and linked her arm with his.  "I'm going to pound this back to get us back on schedule, then I'm going to retire my tent, and I expect you to immediately join me for step two."

"Ah, how I have missed your terrible planning under pressure," he teased.

She laughed and knocked back her beer as he did the same.  She loved the feeling of the cool drink running down her throat, and the pressure of their arms wrapped together.  She had been so low, and now that she had opened up and the weight was beginning to lift, she was shooting straight up into an emotional high.  She sputtered a little at the end and ducked her head laughing, but Zevran tilted her head up and caught her lips in a kiss.  He tasted of the ale and smoke and fire from the dinner they'd eaten earlier.

"It is so good when you laugh," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you for being here with me," she smiled back.  She nuzzled his neck, her cheeks beginning to flush from the rush of ale.  "Step two is getting away from us...."

Faster than Lornwen could process, Zevran swept her up into his arms and strode towards her tent.  Lornwen giggled as she pulled at the ties on his clothes even before they were fully within the tent.  "Ah, ah, ah," he play-scolded.  "This is  _my_ plan to cheer up _you_.  So you," he laid her down on the bed roll and pulled off his loosened shirt, "are going to let me do what I do best."  Skimming his hands over her torso, he leaned down and kissed her stomach over her shirt, kissed up her front to her neck, rolling his hips between her legs.  "Unless ordering me about would cheer you up more," he breathed against her skin.

Lornwen sighed, her breath shaking.  "No orders," she said, head thrown back and nails already digging into his back.  "But I do want you to massage me.  Like the first time."

He kissed her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, sucking as if to steal her soul.  "Your wish is my command, cara mia."  With his hands and teeth, he lifted her shirt over her head, his fingers and breath gracing over her bare skin.  Eagerly, she hooked her fingers in both her pants and underwear and pulled them off in one motion as he unfastened her bra.

And then she was bare beneath him.  "Hey," she smiled, breathlessly.

"Hey," he murmured, kissing her lightly, running his hands through her hair and letting down her tight twist.  His fingertips massaged her scalp, pulling a moan from her throat.  "Roll over," he whispered hoarsely in her ear.

Lornwen practically purred as she shifted to her stomach, arranging her head comfortably on her pillows and pulling her dark hair away from her back.  Sighing, she closed her eyes as Zevran straddled her, settled his weight behind her buttocks.  He had found the bottle of oil they kept near her bed, and now his warm hands smoothed it up her back.  Over her shoulders and down each arm.  Tenderly, he worked his way down to each hand, massaging the tension out of her palms and kissing the callouses her archery had left on her hands.  Back to her shoulders, his fingers kneaded her tired muscles and then up over the back of her neck.

As he leaned forward to kiss her behind the ear, his hips rocked against her butt, the friction in his pants bumping against her, and she couldn't help but grind back against him.  "Following the script to the letter, I see," he chuckled, his thumbs circling down her back and his fingers glancing over the sides of her breasts.  "As I remember, you were equally eager that night, too."

Lornwen opened an eye to look back at him, a wolfish smile across her face.  "I know what I want, and I know how to get it."

"How lucky I am that you wanted me," he smiled, his eyes soft.  He traced intricate patterns on her back, and with the bit of alcohol in her system, it felt magical.  As if it left glowing trails across her skin.  Her shoulders rolled involuntarily, heat building between her legs, and she groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

Zevran's oiled hands moved down, massaging her lower back, her butt, her upper thighs.  His thumb traced over her slit, feeling her wetness, and a low growl built in his throat.  But he moved on, his hands rubbing down her legs to her feet.  He lifted each foot as he massaged them, kissing each before moving back up.  He took his time kneading her calf with one hand while lightly tracing the thigh of her other leg with just the tips of his nails.

Gradually, his hands moved up her thighs until they were nearly between her legs, his strong fingers expertly massaging her relaxed flesh.  Closer they drew to her, always stopping just short.  "I forgot how teasing you were," Lornwen shuddered, trying not to squirm.

"Roll over to your back," Zevran commanded gently, his warm breath almost unbearably close.  But she did as she was told and was rewarded with a kiss on her mouth.  With his tongue, Zevran set a rhythm that his hands matched as they massaged down her front, teasing around her breasts, again jumping from just above her hips to her thighs.  But this time as he massaged her thighs, he shifted her legs open and finally -  _finally_ \- broke the kiss to lay his mouth on the lips between her legs.

Lornwen gasped, her reaction immediate and dramatic as she twisted, her legs tightening around Zevran's shoulders and her hand knotting in his blond hair.  His tongue delved into her and then flicked her clit, and she moaned obscenely.  "Oh, Zev, you do this so well...."

He didn't answer with words, but he did shift his angle as he slid a finger into her, curled to hit just the right spot inside of her.  Slowly, precisely, he played her like an instrument as she rocked against his face.  He kept his pace just slow enough that even as her lust pooled in her core, she never quite spilled over the edge.  His arm looped around her thigh, holding her securely as he slowed his pace to nearly a stop, keeping her still as she tryed to writhe against him.  A devilish grin on his face, he removed his finger entirely, paused for a moment as she whimpered and then ever so slowly, slid two fingers back into her, stretching her as he massaged her spot from within.

Her voice shot up in a cry as she shook, pleasure rolling over her as her hips lifted off of the blankets.  He continued stroking her, sucking her clit and swirling swirling designs around it, until she came down off her orgasm, only then withdrawing.  He moved back up to meet her gaze, and she kissed him hungrily sweeping her tongue through his mouth to taste herself.  She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, one of her legs intertwining with his, never wanting to let him go.  He had at some point removed his pants, and she felt his hardened length grinding between her legs.

"Zevran, please," she begged, rocking her hips against him.  She reached up to nibble his ear.  "I need you."

"Oh, Lornwen," he moaned and sank his teeth into her neck.  Slowly, he slid home, stretching her, filling her.  "You have me."  Lornwen moaned with each roll of their hips, already so close again to climax.  "You'll always have me," he continued, his thrusts punctuating his words.  "As long as you want me, I'll be here with you."

The slow pace was maddening.  "Let me top, please," Lornwen interrupted.  She winced a bit at the lack of romance, but she felt as if she'd explode without relief.  But Zevran laughed as he flipped them both, his hands running across her thighs and nails digging into her ass as she quickened their rhythm.  Her back arched as she reached between them to touch herself, her other hand tangling in her hair.  "I want you always," she gasped, edging to the brink, gyrating just perfectly for him to hit that spot within her.  "And -  _oh, Zevran_ \- I'll be here with you, as long as you'll have me."

Her release came fast and hard, her thighs squeezing his hips as she shook.  Wrapping his arms around her, Zevran pulled himself up, seizing her mouth in a teeth-clicking kiss as his own orgasm rocked through him.  It seemed a blissful eternity as they clung to each other, and as they came back down, their kiss became softer, less frenzied, but no less hungry.  Zevran laid back, pulling her down with him, still kissing her tenderly and massaging the back of her neck.  Lornwen wished they could stay there forever, embraced, Zevran warm inside of her.  But her back was beginning to protest from being bent over, and her legs were just about ready to give out.  Groaning, she pulled herself off and dropped to the side, curling against Zevran.  "What was step three?" she murmured, exhausted in the best way.

Zevran pulled her blanket up over the two of them and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer until her head lay on his chest.  "Step three is you sleeping soundly in my arms, cara mia."  With a finger, he lifted her chin and kissed her forehead gently.  "Now go to sleep.  Rest.  I will guard your dreams."

Lornwen couldn't help but beam, and she kissed him on the lips once more before she curled back up.  "Goodnight, Zevran...."

"Goodnight, Lornwen...."

That night she did dream again of the Deep Roads.  But this time, Zevran was there with her, holding her hand.  And this time, they knew the way out.  And this time, she shifted closer to Zevran in the bed and continued sleeping peacefully.

**Author's Note:**

> "Cara mia" is Italian for "my dear" because Antiva is fantasy!Italy/Rome and I get all fluttery whenever Zevran says "my dear". (I originally used "mia cara" because Google translate, but I know better now and have edited the fic.) Also, if fics had blooper reals, this one would have Zevran breaking into Shakira lyrics towards the end, followed by a spoof music video of Zevran singing "Whenever, Wherever" with all the same choreography.


End file.
